nelson mandela emerged from 27 years in prison to become south africa's first elected black president, dying yesterday at the age of 95. the comments of about mandela from former u.s. vice president al gore, the democratic alliance leader, and chris williams. is probablyndela the preeminent global leader for his life of courage and commitment, and inspires me. >> nelson mandela is our george washington. he has a legacy internationally, and his legacy is primarily ,econciliation, redress constitutionalism, and the rule of law, open market economies, diversity, and non-racialism. >> i am extremely sad. it is tragic news. just remind it what an extraordinary and inspiring man nelson mandela was. my thoughts are with him and his family. >> i want to introduce you now to an ambassador who has dealt with nelson mandela in the past, the first woman u.s. ambassador to south africa, and the senior director for african affairs at the national security council, currently a distinct professor at carnegie mellon university and also the director of the carnegie center for international policy and i